Patrick L. Sutton, Executive Director, Patient & Specialty Services, Cardio-Renal-Metabolic, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Healthcare providers (HCPs) are experts when it comes to medicine. However, in many cases, administrative tasks such as specialty drug acquisition and the reimbursement process remain an ongoing challenge. Enter Patrick Sutton, who spearheaded a unique approach when preparing for the launch of an investigational product within Novartis’ Cardio-Renal-Metabolic franchise.
Novartis is committed to reimagining medicine. Part of this commitment is to deliver innovative, specialty medications that advance treatments in new ways that may require providers and patients to become familiar with different processes. For example, shifting a treatment landscape from one historically comprised of self-administered medications to include HCP-administered products. Careful consideration is required to effectively enable seamless integration into an HCP’s workflow and patient’s healthcare routine.
To achieve this, Patrick and his team conducted extensive discovery research to uncover and address non-clinical barriers to treatment in the relevant disease area. Their learnings were transformed into an unbranded campaign that included a website, educational presentations, and a series of educational videos that explain and simplify the specialty drug acquisition and reimbursement processes for office staff, with the goal of meeting them where they are, irrespective of their prior non-clinical experience.
They also reimagined patient support to deliver a simple, reliable, and supportive customer experience upon FDA approval of the investigational product. These combined campaigns will better position customers to understand the evolving landscape of drug acquisition and enable them to initiate timely use of therapies that benefit their patients.
With Patrick’s leadership style anchored in Novartis’ core values, establishing trust between these practices and Novartis is central to creating a strong foundation for future relationships.
